Worth Saving
by Exploding Dandelion
Summary: "I'm supposed to protect people!" But he remembers one failure and the promise he made-even though he doesn't know who he is trying to protect. And the woman's son; his rage just grows. "She's gone because of you." The world tumbles. Everything changes.
1. A Spark Leads to Fire

_Notes: This story is AU. No real pairings as of now, aside from SnowxSerah._

_Thank you for reading._

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><p>"But you know I don't want to work for dad!" Hope sighed as his mother grabbed his arm and dragged him to the next shop window. The silver-haired woman glanced around at the dresses while making a few notes on a small pad of paper. Hope resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "And I thought you were supposed to buy a blue dress? All of these are green and pink."<p>

Nora nodded, straightening up and cracking her back. She turned green eyes to her son, smiling a bit at his pout. She pinched his cheek, giggling when he turned away and stuck out his tongue. "I forget how much you look like me sometimes! Your father's right, that pout is irresistible. Which means some ice cream!"

"If you think you can bribe me with ice cream, you are absolutely right!" Nora snorted at his response, peering into the shop. Hope glanced at the window as well, catching his reflection on the bright and clear glass. He glanced at his mother, then himself, watching both sets of eyes. He was pale like her too, and slender, with a bit of baby fat still clinging to fourteen-year-old cheeks. But his silver locks were what really stood out; an odd color for anyone.

_I don't know if I should be happy or glad about it..._

"Maybe they'll have different colors inside?" Nora said, glancing at Hope. Hope raised an eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes, smirking. "Fine, fine, ice cream, then we'll find the dress."

"Thank you!"

Nora shook her head and led the way around the shop, smiling at Hope. Her eyes darkened though and Hope sped up, biting his lip. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I...I know you're angry with your father, but if you give him a chance-"

"I already said that I didn't want to work for him."

"That's not what I mean, Hope," Nora said firmly. Hope blinked at the tone, tilting his head at his mother. She grabbed Hope's hand and led him to the nearest ice cream shop, nodding at a few people as she passed by. "You haven't spoken to him in two weeks."

Hope's chest tightened and his bright eyes dulled. "Maybe if he were around, it'd be harder pull off."

"You don't want to talk to him when he calls, you're never around when he's home, and it's just-it's not healthy." She paused on the sidewalk, turning to him. "I don't want to see the two most important men in my life fight like this. It's not even about the company anymore, he just wants to talk with you, Hope."

Hope bit his lip harder at the sight of his mother's pleading eyes, but he squared his shoulders. "If he really wanted to talk with me, he would have come on this trip! He wouldn't have let work take him away! He'd be here with us if he really gave damn!"

Hope's head snapped to the side, his cheek throbbing. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the ground, but his hand went to cover the now red cheek. He heard his mother's shuffling clothes and blinked at her, watching her kneel to the ground so they were eye level.

"He loves the both of us, Hope. I know it's hard to see, but-"

"Then why did you cry when he canceled?" Hope hated the way the words tasted in his mouth; hated them more when his mother flinched.

_But-but she _was_ crying. She stayed in there for an hour, sobbing. I'm not the only one who's sick of it. I'm not the only one frustrated with dad! Why? Why don't you say something to him, mom? He might listen to you, he might-_

"...know better than to press your ear to our door, Hope." Hope jerked himself out of his thought, shoulders sagging when Nora stood and led him by the arm again.

They stopped in front of the ice cream shop and Hope stared at the bright, blinding white of the building. The sun's rays were beaming off the paint and Hope quickly looked at the ground. Blue and green spots danced on the pavement, and Hope listened as Nora ordered two vanilla ice creams.

_Now I feel bad..._ Hope sighed, rubbing his temple. _But how do I say sorry when I don't mean it? I suck at lying to her, she always knows what I'm doing... Maybe if I say I'm sorry for hurting her? That's the truth._

"Would you like sprinkles with that?"

"No," Hope mumbled, looking off into the distance. _Sprinkles? What am I, five?_ A few cars were stuck behind a giant truck, and Hope paused at the name, bold and blue on the white truck.

_Orphan Medical._

Hope sneered at the vehicle and turned around again, smiling when his mother held the ice cream in front of him.

Then he screamed when his mother clawed his shoulder and threw him away. Somewhere there was a boom; so loud that Hope couldn't catch his mother's words. Only her eyes, wide and fearful.

Heat burned on all sides and his body skidded a few feet away. Bits of metal and glass littered Hope's hair and his head pounded. Blood slid down his temple where his skull had cracked the pavement, but he shook his head and pushed himself up, eyes flickering, trying to catch a glimpse of Nora.

"Grab him! Someone grab him and get him away!" Hope's stomach bottomed out. He sucked on the air but his lungs just deflated the moment he took a breath. His mother was yelling something at him, pinned under a large sheet of metal. Blood was pooling around her, but she propped herself up on her arms and shouted at him as if it were nothing.

As if sitting in a lake of her own blood was nothing.

"Someone grab my son and get him out of here! He doesn't-he doesn't need to see this! Grab him! Don't you see he's bleeding, someone grab him!"

Hope shook his head, pushing himself to his knees and then trying to stand up. His legs wobbled and someone lightly touched his shoulder. His body tensed and he flinched, jumping away. His shaky eyes turned to his mother again and he ran toward her, dropping to his knees and leaning toward her face.

"No. No, no...no... Mom-mom, how do I help? I want to help but I-" _My voice. My voice won't stop shaking. Why won't it stop shaking? _

"You need to go, Hope," Nora said. Her chest heaved and she clamped her mouth shut, shuddering as blood pooled in her mouth, slivers of the red liquid dribbling down her lip.

Hope's eyes widened at the sight of red on her lips. His heart just skipped and skipped and skipped. Everything around him tilted.

"I mean it, Hope! That-that bus could go any time."

_Bus? What bus?_ Hope shook his head, reaching for his mom's face but she did her best to back away.

"I said go!" Nora's eyes flickered above Hope's head and he whipped around, coming face to face with a police officer. He barely had time to register her strawberry hair before he was being dragged away by the woman, her grip unnaturally strong.

"N-No! Don't save me, save my mom! That's what you're supposed to do, you're supposed to save her!" Hope growled when the woman didn't even speak. He yanked and pulled at her grip until he felt the fingers peel off his shoulder. He threw himself forward and grasped his mother's blood-stained hand, shaking his head as she said 'leave' over and over again.

Hope's eyes widened when the grip came back, digging into his shoulders and pulling on him again. Distantly he could hear the voices, but it all seemed to dull with the crackling of the flames and his mother's voice. He curled his fingers around his mother's own, ignoring the ache in his muscles or the way his skin slid on the blood.

_I'm not letting go, I'm not letting go. I won't let you take her from me!_

"Do whatever you can to keep him safe!" Nora yelled, covering her mouth when more blood came up. Hope shook his head; whipped it from side to side and he kicked at the officer.

"No! Quit saying stupid things like that! We need to find that stupid dress! We need to leave, mom! We'll miss the train back and you promised."

Hope roared when the officer clawed him and yanked him away again. She dragged him several feet away and stood in front of him, crouching slightly and holding him in place. Her form shielded his mother from view, but a voice called above the din. "Don't worry too much, sis! I'll get her out in no time!"

Hope's breath caught in his throat and he peeked around the officer, spotting a tall, muscled blond man lifting the metal from his mother. Hope gasped, his chest and stomach releasing. He watched the man talk with his mother, odd with the bus and two other cars burning in the background. The police woman said something, but Hope didn't care. Didn't care that he couldn't hear what they said or that he was bleeding and that everything just _ached._

His mother would be safe. That was all that mattered.

"Get out of there, Snow!"

"The bus-"

Hope felt the rumble rather than hear it. His eyes flickered to the giant cloud of black soot and orange fire blooming in the air. More metal and glass shattered, tore, and flew. Hope saw it rain down; tearing street and skin alike.

He saw the big blond man being thrown back, his skull bouncing off the ground.

He glanced at his mother, covered in metal and glass and blood.

_Mom?_

The police woman leaned over him, shaking his shoulder and trying to pull him up.

_No... Go help her. She needs it. She needs your help. Go help her! _

"I can't help her." Hope blinked but shook his head, not aware he was muttering his thoughts. Briefly, he wondered why the woman sounded so gruff and sad.

"But that man-"

"He couldn't save her."

The words hit him like a train. His eyes burned and he could feel the sob bubbling up his throat before he could stop it.

"Nnnggh." Hope shook his head as his eyes burned harder. Clamped his mouth down and forced the sob into a strange, strangled noise. "But he-but maybe she's still al-"

_But she's so still under the metal. And the fire. And the blood. She's not moving. She's not-not telling me to run away. She's not telling me not to look. She wouldn't want me to. She just said she didn't want me to see!_

"He was supposed to save her! Why didn't he save her? Why didn't he save her, she was right there, he could have done it! Why didn't he save her! She was free! All he had to do was pull, why didn't he save her?" Hope's voice rose with each word, even as the air around him thinned. His body shook and quaked. His legs kept buckling each time the officer pulled him up.

Nora still didn't move from beneath the metal.

"Why didn't he save her! Why! He was-why. Why? Why?" Hope repeated the words until his breath caught and the world dimmed. Until everything gave way to darkness and nothing; until he could only think the word, switching between why and mommy.

And once everything just stopped, his body gave way in the woman's arms.

It would be the one and only time he did not dream of his mother.

And the one and only time he did not dream of the man called Snow.

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><p>Hope leaned back in his father's soft, large chair, being sure not to tilt so far as to make the wheels turn. But then the back trembled and Hope threw himself forward to the desk, heart skipping at the brief terror of falling backwards.<p>

Feeling his cheeks warm, he rested his chin on his hand, suppressing a yawn and watching his father gather the last few bits of paperwork for the night. The glasses were slipping off his father's worn face, and Bartholomew kept running a hand through his short brown bristles whenever something fell to the floor.

"Are you all right, Hope?" Bartholomew asked, glancing at his son. "You seem off today."

"I'm fine, dad," Hope said, glancing at the windows. He could see the skyline, stars mingling with the lights given off by other buildings in the small city of Cocoon. _Way more interesting than this place, I'm sure. _

"Well, how is your time at the Academy going? The lessons are working well, right?"

Hope hummed, his father's voice a distant ring. _I wonder if Lightning is out there, kicking some criminal ass._

_She's so cool._

"Hope..." Hope jumped at how close his father sounded, clattering in the chair and giving Bartholomew a sheepish smile.

"Sorry 'bout that. Guess I'm...tired." Hope's cheeks flushed and Bartholomew rolled his eyes, throwing a few loose pieces of paper into his suitcase and snapping it shut.

"Straight to bed when we get home then. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah." Hope let his shoulders slack, leaning back into the chair. "Get me when the car is here."

"You're such a lazy bum sometimes." Bartholomew said, smiling at his son. He started across the room, waving at Hope. "I'll let you off for now. I've heard about this _Iron Rose_ and she is no walk in the picnic."

"It's park, dad. And don't call Lightning Iron Rose! You already met her! You know who she is! How long has it been now?" Hope cried, nearly shooting out of his chair.

"I know you think she's the coolest thing, too." Hope gaped at that, his cheeks turning redder by the minute.

"How do I not catch saying that?" Hope said, putting his face in his hands. "I mean, you'd think I'd hear myself talk."

There was a small, short silence between them before Bartholomew cleared his throat. "It'll be three years on the dot tomorrow." Hope narrowed his eyes and nodded, not looking up from his hands.

"We're still going, right?" Hope asked, slowly lifting his face from his hands. He stared long and hard at his father, brown eyes on green.

"It's not even a question. Every meeting has been cleared, the phones will be shut off, and the Iron Rose will have to wait for her protege." Bartholomew's lips didn't even twitch up.

Neither did Hope's.

"I miss her," Hope mumbled, glaring at the floor.

"I... I know, Hope. I wish I could make it better."

"You miss her too, don't you?" Hope asked, unable to keep the hard accusation from his tone.

"That's not a question either." Bartholomew shook his head when Hope's face dropped, an apology already coming from Hope. "It's all right. It's not as if I've made my grief apparent." Bartholomew gave Hope a small smile, his lined eyes sad as they fell on his son. "But I want to help you more than myself. It's part pf being a parent."

Hope nodded, his throat tightening.

_Mom did it for me, too. She made sacrifices. Protected me._

_Even in the end, she was protecting me. _

Hope clenched his hands, looking back at the floor.

"When we get back, we'll be dealing with the new security squad recruits. Quite an odd bunch this time," Bartholomew said lightly, his eyes trained on Hope. "But I'm sure they'll work out. Check out the names on the list, you might recognize one." Bartholomew pointed to the clipboard still sitting on the desk, a small checklist of names running down the paper.

Hope blinked and pulled the list toward him, flinching when the elevator pinged and his father disappeared behind the metal sliding doors. _Stupid, nervous reflexes. _

Hope watched the small light of the elevator for a moment before turning back to the list, eyes instantly lighting up at the name, _Kai Ichizo_.

He smiled, holding back a chuckle. "No way, he actually made squad? And I thought he was full of hot air." Hope went to put the list down, but another name caught his eye. For a second, the same moment his heart skipped, he thought he'd misread it. But he pulled the list closer, eyes instantly snapping to the name.

_Snow Villiers._

Hope blinked, reading and rereading the name typed on the list complete with a small check mark in the box next to it.

_Snow Villiers._

_Snow Villiers._

_Snow..._

Hope's eyes dulled, any light vanishing in that instant. A sneer made its way to his face before twisting into a smirk, and he flipped the clipboard over, shooting away from the chair. His heart roared; pounded in his chest and drummed in his head.

"So, Snow Villiers is coming to Orphan Medical...to work as security."

_Do you really think it's the same guy?_

"Who else could it be? How many people could possibly be naming their kid Snow?" Shadows fell across Hope's face, dead eyes glaring at the skyline. "Who else is it but him?"

"Hope, you ready to go?" Hope closed his eyes at his father's voice. _I didn't hear the ping! Calm down, calm down. Take a deep breath, look him straight in the eye, stop talking to yourself, and just-_

"Yeah, sorry dad!" Hope said, grinning brightly at his father. He kept his eyes shut tight until he was sure he had recovered, giving his father a smaller smile. "I can't believe Kai is coming here."

"I thought you'd be excited about that! That kid has been nothing but an inferno since you two met in school..."

Hope nodded, following his father to the elevator as Bartholomew started on Kai. But the name was running through his mind like a mantra.

_Snow Villiers. Snow Villiers. Snow Villiers. Snow Villiers. _

Hope held back another sneer, knowing he'd have plenty of time to be dark and gloomy and brood over this new development in the coming hours. He would think of his mother and the man that had left her to die. He would stew in his hate and his pain and all the rage that just screamed and tore at his brain.

_And once I get back, _Hope said, almost smiling, although his chest was clenching and tightening at the thought, _he'll be here to take it out on._

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><p><em>-A small note on Kai. Briefly, I remember reading that Hope had a friend named Kai in canon history. He did not have a last name, so I made one up for him, and decided to put him in this fic.<em>


	2. Secrets Down the Hospital Hall

_This is a little later than I meant it to be, so I hope that is all right. I want to thank you all for the support, and I'll reply to the reviews soon._

_Happy reading and thank you for your time._

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><p>Snow leaned back into the squeaky, hard plastic chair, biting back a moan as his tailbone throbbed. He blinked at soft laughter coming from the hospital bed, and glanced at his fiance, Serah, as she giggled at him.<p>

"You're making a face," she said, shaking her strawberry blonde hair from her eyes. "Like you have to go to the bathroom or something."

Snow cheeks warmed and he shook his head, grinning. "No way! But these seats are made of cement or something, I'm getting butt coma over here."

Serah shook her head again, blue eyes brightening. She leaned back into the pure white pillows; ones that were once stiff and sterile, but now accustomed to her head and torso. Her left arm was linked to the IV bag that pumped in much needed medicine with complicated names Snow could not memorize. Her right hand gripped Snow's, fingers brushing his palm. Snow glanced at her frail and pale fingers, caressing them with his own, bigger ones before looking at her right arm.

Bandages wound tightly over the skin hid the dark, black brand that spread across her upper arm nearly two years ago. The same brand that doomed her to living in a hospital bed, pumped with experimental medication in order to keep her stable. The brand that kept her surrounded by blank white walls and a small television hooked to the ceiling.

Serah's life, however, had leaked into the dead room. Pictures of her and Snow together, and even a few of Lightning, sat on the end tables. Books, some as thin as her hand and others as thick as bricks, were stockpiled in the drawers and hanging around the room. And notebooks and pencils littered the free seats and any other surface, filled with her neatly written scribbles.

"Snow?" Serah asked, tilting her head at his sudden silence. She tightened her grip on his hand and Snow slowly raised dull blue eyes to her, scratching his brow.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled. "Just thinking again."

Serah nodded, looking down at her lap, then back at him. "About what happened?"

Snow grunted, not meeting her searching eyes. Serah swallowed, shaking her head. "I already told you that it wasn't your fault. I'm the one who followed you. If I hadn't-"

"It doesn't matter. I'm supposed to be able to protect you, Serah. And I couldn't. I couldn't even do that. And now you've got this-this eons old disease that we have no idea how to treat and it's my fault!" He lowered his booming voice at her wide eyes, shaking his head and glaring at his lap. "No matter what I seem to do, I fail at...at protecting you when you need it most. Just like-"

Snow stopped, shaking his head at the memory. That woman, bleeding, coughing up blood as he made small chit-chat with her. Pretending everything was all right, even though everything just _wasn't._

_Didn't even get her name, _Snow thought, eyes darkening, _She saves my ass I don't even get a name. And she just...she tells me to make sure her son is safe, but how am I supposed to do that when I don't even know who he is!_

_And because of it, I hurt Serah._

"Snow, please stop thinking of it that way." Snow jumped when he felt Serah's fingers brush his cheek, closing his eyes while she leaned in and kissed his forehead. "I'm just as much to blame as you. Besides, we're closer now more than ever, aren't we? In figuring out about that woman and her son?"

"I shouldn't have dragged you into," Snow said, his voice gruff. "It's my screw up, not yours."

"But Snow, that woman-"

"I could have saved her!" Snow ground out, his eyes flaring. "I was right there! She was talking to me like it was nothing, even though she-she had..." Snow trailed off, scowling and pushing the thoughts away. "I just want to make it right somehow. I want to make things right."

"And I'll be with you in whatever way I can." Snow gazed back at Serah, blinking at her bright, intense stare. "That kind of nobility-that's why I love you. You're not giving up on this, so neither am I! And with this new job, you'll have a better chance at finding him."

Snow nodded, his grin returning. "Good thing you're here, or else I'd really be lost. But maybe-maybe I'll really be able to find out who her son is. Who she _was_. I owe her that much." Snow sighed, closing his eyes a bit. "I need to do this."

"Don't know why." Both of them jumped at the voice, heads whipping toward the door. Snow watched Fang saunter in, Serah's nurse, Vanille, at her side with a clipboard. "That's what I don't get about you. It's one thing if you know 'em, but this kid is a stranger!"

Snow just smiled, scratching the back of his head. "I know. But I just can't help myself." He raised an eyebrow at Fang, taking in her uniform; a long white lab coat, not unlike the ones he'd seen the doctors wearing. A stethoscope hung around her neck and she even sported a pair of red glasses, although he noticed the frames were knocked out. Her wild black hair was hastily done up, strands of it sticking from the bun.

"You like it?" Fang asked, hands on her hips. "I borrowed it from one of the doctors' lockers. It's way easier to get around in this thing. Oh, and my name is..." Fang glanced down at the name embroidered on the coat, "Doctor Durum? That doesn't sound good at all."

Vanille rolled her eyes, clucking her tongue at Fang as she made her way inside. She pressed the to her chest and a warm smile graced her mouth. "Sorry you two. You know how Fang can be. Ow!" Vanille ducked from Fang's hands, said woman reaching for Vanille's bright red pigtails, hoping to give them another sharp tug.

Vanille hurried to the safety of Serah's bedside, smiling at the woman and poking her cheek. "How are you feeling today, Serah? Any better? Worse? Need something changed or...?"

Serah shook her head, returning Vanille's smile with her own and shifting her weight on the bed. She propped herself on her knees before dragging herself into a straighter position, grabbing Vanille's clipboard and setting it on the bed. Vanille blinked at her, but Serah took her hands and grinned. "Guess who got the job?"

Vanille's mouth dropped open and she squealed, turning to Snow. "No way! You did it? That's fantastic!"

Snow smiled, rubbing his chin. "Of course I did it. Was there any doubt?"

"Do you want the honest answer?" All heads turned to the doorway again and Serah's face brightened.

"Sis!" Serah nearly bounced from her bed, but Vanille and Snow held her down. Serah rolled her eyes, pouting. "Oh, come on, I wasn't really going to get up!"

"I'll come to you," Lightning said, a small smile forming. Serah giggled and took her sister's hands when Lightning reached her, nearly identical blue eyes meeting. "How have you been?" Lightning asked, throwing a stray curl of strawberry blonde hair behind her.

"Good! Great, now that you're here too! Snow got the job, sis!" Serah chuckled, unable to contain the bubbles in her stomach. "He's working with the Main branch now too! They were trying to push him into Dysley's Medicinal branch, but-but I guess-"

Serah looked to Snow, eyes searching his for the details. Snow grinned, although it faltered slightly when Lightning's blank eyes swiveled to him. "Um, right, well, I-I made a request to Mr. Estheim about being transferred to his division instead. I thought I'd get stuck in the Emergency and Disaster branch for even asking. Or with hospital security like Fang did-"

"Hey! I _choose_ to be here. I'm not stuck!" Vanille shushed Fang, putting a hand on Fang's arm but keeping her eyes on Snow.

"Well, he told me to send in my resume, because he didn't get to see it. And he said something about some guy named Rygdea forgetting things again."

"Can we get to the point, Snow?" Lightning asked, eyes narrowed.

"Well, he took me from regular security work to private. I'll be working in the First Tower of Orphan Medical itself!"

"No way!" Vanille put her hands to her mouth, bouncing on her heels. "It's so hard to get anywhere near that place. It's been where they've been keeping all those files and incident reports since President Etro passed away. And Estheim, Dysley, and Raines keep butting heads, making it even more complicated."

Snow nodded, slowly shifting his eyes away from Lightning's unflinching stare to Serah's warm gaze. "I think I'll actually be able to find him this time," Snow said. Serah nodded, reaching for his hand and lacing it with hers.

"I know you will, Snow."

"And with the extra money, we'll be more than able to pay for that experimental medication Dr. Katzroy's got going," Snow added, squeezing Serah's hand. Snow held back a shudder though, feeling the burn of Lightning's eyes on his back.

Serah blinked at his tense hand, glancing at her sister before looking back at Snow. She shook her head and smiled, pecking Snow on the cheek before leaning back into her bed. She sighed and pulled the covers up, easily sinking back into the mattress.

"Serah?" Snow pushed himself from his chair and leaned over her, looking her up and down. "You all right?"

"Yeah, Snow." Serah curled into the fetal position, glancing up at Snow for a few seconds before her eyes slid shut again. "Just really tired is all."

"Tired?" Snow bit his lip. "But you were so energetic just a few minutes ago."

"...rry." Serah's voice was groggy and forced, and Snow fell back into his chair, resting on the rail and watching his fiance's breaths even out.

Lightning's eyes were glued to Serah's back, watching the gentle rise and fall of her body. Vanille glanced at Lightning, going in to retrieve her clipboard and scrambling away when Lightning caught her eye.

"How is she, Vanille?" Lightning asked, her voice soft.

Vanille's eyes widened and she slowly nodded, glancing at the clipboard before shaking her head and setting it on a nearby table. "Well, I can't go as in depth as a doctor, but the syndrome has been under control over the last few weeks. No real spikes in activity, but no real improvements either."

Vanille glanced back at Serah, jumping a bit when Fang leaned next to her. "I'm a little concerned about these sudden bouts of fatigue though. L'Cie syndrome rarely manifests as exhaustion. Not on this level."

"Maybe it was because she got overexcited?" Lightning tried.

"No..." Snow said, meeting Lightning's eyes when she looked at him. "It's not the first time it's happened. Sometimes she'll be eating her food and she just...falls over, fast asleep. Or when we're watching TV. Sometimes when we're talking too." Snow looked back at Serah, placing a hand on her arm and brushing her skin with his thumb.

Lightning looked away from him, clenching her hands. "And this Dr. Katzroy? He really knows what he's doing?"

"Oh-uh-"

"Sazh?" Fang piped in, smirking at the glare Lightning sent her. "He's really good at this sort of thing, from what I've seen. He's even that squirt's private physician."

"Hope is not a squirt," Lightning said, keeping her voice even. "What I want to know is if this experimental medication could really make Serah any better. Would it improve her condition? Would the... Would the l'Cie syndrome disappear?"

"It's hard to tell. Dr. Katzroy says there isn't enough data, and the experiment hasn't be around long enough to know for certain. And he's got a very small pool of subjects he can even do this from," Vanille said, wringing her clipboard's corners.

Lightning's eyes flashed and she almost broke her blank face to form a sneer. Almost. "Why charge for experimental medication? There's no guarantee, so why-"

"It's not that he wants to, Lightning," Vanille said softly. "But he has to get a lot of his ingredients from the Medicinal branch, and dealing with Dysley has been a nightmare for the past few years. If he doesn't charge, he can't afford to make it."

"Relax, police girl," Fang said, shaking her head. "He'll get it done and your sister will be up and moving in no time. Now, what I want to know is how you're going to deal with Hope once he-"

"Snow, I need to talk to you." Lightning turned away from Fang, ignoring Fang's splutters and growls.

"You don't get to ignore me, Farron. I need to finish-"

"_Now._" Lightning left the room without another word, straightening the collar around her blue police uniform and walking down the hall.

Snow shot Fang an apologetic glance before hurrying after Lightning. He swallowed hard, phantom pain throbbing in his jaw at their last confrontation. _Never question Lightning's teaching abilities again,_ Snow reminded himself.

"Snow, is it all true? About your job at the Main branch?" Lightning asked when she heard Snow's heavy footsteps slow to a stop behind her.

"Um...well, yeah. I wouldn't lie about that sort of thing." Snow's brow creased. "Does it really seem that impossible that they would hire me?"

"Do you remember Hope Estheim?"

Snow blinked at the question before slowly nodding his head. "The chairman's son, right? And your little prodigy over at the Academy. I've caught you talking to Serah about him a few times, and I've seen him in the newspapers."

"But that's all you know?"

Snow shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Why do you care, sis?" He missed Lightning sneer at the word, instead looking back to the room. "I mean, so what? I'll get to know him when I start working there. He might even be able to help me find who I'm looking for. I mean, he has access to that sort of thing, right? Files and things."

Snow swore when he looked back and Lightning was right in front of him, her eyes burning into him. "Snow, do not mention you know me or Serah."

"W-What?"

"Don't let on you know who Serah and I are." Lightning crossed her arms, watching Snow. "No matter what."

Snow blinked, tilting his head to the side. "Why, though? I mean, so what if I know who you are? And Serah? Why would he care, he's probably already heard about her from you."

"He has," Lightning said, her voice hard, "but he hasn't heard one thing about you. He knows Serah's engaged, but that's the extent of it. I haven't even told him your name."

Snow's face dropped. "Aw, you're so cold sometimes, Light."

"Don't call me Light."

"I mean, you didn't even tell him who I was? But you told him all about Serah I bet, except who she's getting married to."

"Not if I can help it," Lightning muttered.

"So, why?" Snow asked again, staring Lightning in the eye. "What's so bad about you knowing me to this kid?"

Lightning took a deep breath, holding Snow's gaze. For a moment, she thought of Hope. Pictured him leaning on the walls of the Academy and telling her of this man he only knew as Snow; this man before her who Hope blamed for his mother's death.

And she remembered Hope's determination to use everything Lightning had taught him, both in skill and in attitude, to make Snow pay for what he'd done.

Lightning, however, hadn't told Hope that she was seeing this man every other week when she went to visit her sister. That the man Hope was so fervently searching for was right in his grasp for at least the last two years of his life...

And Lightning had said nothing.

"Sis?" Snow asked, eyes worried. "You all right?"

"You remind him of someone." Lightning couldn't stop the words from tumbling out. They fell and knitted together, forming a story that was steps away from being the truth. "Someone who's wronged him in the past. He's going to react negatively to you. And-"

Snow held up his hand, his eyes soft. "Say no more, sis. I understand."

Lightning blinked, raising an eyebrow. "You do?"

"Of course. If I piss off the chairman's son, that's one thing. But if he knows I'm in with you and Serah...well, he can make all of our lives difficult, I guess."

Lightning nodded, biting her tongue to keep the words, _Hope isn't like that_, from falling out her mouth.

"Besides, I don't want him thinking I'm trying to use knowing you to get what I want. Looks bad on both of us." Snow turned around and started back toward the room, glancing at the ceiling. "But that's just great. Now I know the boss' son is gonna hate me the second I walk through that door-hey, Fang."

Fang nodded to Snow, shaking her head when he continued muttering to himself. Fang glanced at Lightning, shaking her head when Lightning turned away and started down the hall. Fang took several long strides, easily falling into step beside Lightning. She grabbed Lightning's arm when said woman went to turn the corner, shaking her head and giving Lightning a knowing smirk.

"It's not nice to lie, Miss police officer."

"I don't recall asking for your input, Fang." Lightning's tone was brusque, but it only made Fang smile wider.

"How do you think it's going to go when Snow walks in that building and Hope tries to murder him on the spot?"

"I'm certain Hope already knows he's coming. His father _is_ the chairman, after all. And by now, Hope's had time to think about it."

"But didn't he and his dad go to that cemetery?" Fang watched Lightning's eyes flash, but no other expression showed. Fang pressed on, "So, sure, he's had some time to think about it, but it's the worst possible time. Instead of cooling down, he's probably just angrier than before."

"Fang."

"It's only going to get worse if you keep them in the dark," Fang said. "I should know. I've been on the receiving end of it." Fang's eyes darkened, and her hand absently went to grip her upper left arm, but her voice remained easy. "And if push comes to shove, Hope could go too far. What then, Lightning?"

"He won't." Lightning squared her shoulders and pulled herself from Fang's grip. "He's not like that."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Say you're right and he just keeps stewing in this-I don't know, let's call it rage n' hate soup. That'd be all fine and dandy if Hope wouldn't be seeing this guy's face every single day. And with Snow not knowing who the kid really is either, you're just making it harder on the both of them."

Lightning growled this time, stepping toward Fang. "At least not knowing will mean Snow fights back!" Lightning seethed, eyes dark. "If he knew who Hope was, he'd just sit there and let Hope beat him to death."

"So you're doing it to protect Snow now too? Didn't know you cared that much." Lightning blinked, relaxing a bit at the offhand comment. Fang shook her head. "Like I said, this is just going to get even more complicated if you don't tell them. I know. Kai knows. And Bartholomew will probably know too. He's smart. I'm sure he'll pick up on it. I mean, Hope _is _his son."

"I know that."

"Then you better do something. It's not fair to either of them anyway, and Hope's a ticking bomb. Who knows what'll happen."

Lightning closed her eyes. "I know, I know. I just need more time."

"I don't think you've got much of that anymore."

Lightning didn't respond, waiting until she heard Fang's soft steps fade out before opening her eyes again. She pressed a hand to her throbbing temple, taking another deep breath and letting her shoulders slump.

"How am I going to fix this?"


End file.
